The next time Hermione woke, the headache seemed a little less. Piper was already sitting in a chair near the bed.
"Good morning beautiful" She smiled at her.
Hermione snorted "Now that, I know is a lie." She responded groggily. "How long have I been out?"
"For this stretch, about ten hours. Before that, three weeks."
Hermione's eyes widened. "And Nico? Did he wake up, while I was asleep?"
Piper sighed. "No. Not yet, but we're hoping it will be soon."
Hermione hesitated "… and Zeus?"
"Nope. He's still asleep. As far as we can tell, there's nothing actually wrong with him. It's like he's on standby or something."
Hermione looked pensive. "He's probably in a sort of magical sleep."
"I'm just glad for that. We have no idea, how he's going to react. Jason is sitting in there most of the time..." Piper trailed off.
"How is he taking it?" Hermione asked carefully.
"He was a mess, at first. He and Percy had that fight, and after that, he got on board with the whole 'making Zeus mortal-thing.' It's still hard on him though. He learned some truths, that no one wants to hear about their father. Mainly about what he did to Nico's mom."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm going to get you some nectar. Hang tight." Piper said, getting up.
Hermione tried to sit up some more, but it took a lot of effort. Her body still felt heavy. She sat for a while, looking at Nico, who was still asleep, stroking his hair. When she looked up, Percy was in the doorway, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Hey kiddo. Did you have a nice nap?"
Hermione gave him a deadpan look. Percy rolled his eyes.
"All right. How do you feel?"
"I would say 'like hell', but I actually like that place." Hermione groaned, making Percy chuckle.
"Just take it easy, okay? We were all scared for you."
"I don't think I can do much else, than 'take it easy.' I can barely lift my own head" She gave him a wry smile.
"Good!" He smirked. He ruffled her hair, and took off laughing maniacally, before she could grab him.
"Not fair! I'll get my revenge, water boy!" she yelled after him.
Nico groaned a string of colorful curse words next to her. "Must you scream like a banshee?" He moaned, throwing his arm limply across his face.
Hermione snorted "Sorry about that, drama queen."
He stuck his tongue out at her "So. Did it work?" He asked her carefully.
She slapped his arm. "You could have killed yourself!" She hissed.
"If I hadn't done that, you would have died, I couldn't live with that, and I regret nothing. But did it at least work?"
"Yes. It worked." She grumbled, hitting his arm again.
"Would you stop that? You're so violent!"
"You like it, when I'm violent."
"Well, yeah, but not towards me!"
Their banter was interrupted by a throat clearing.
"I see, that you are awake, and well." Piper smirked at Nico.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah? What gave you that impression?" he snarked, making Piper raise an eyebrow, and Hermione hit him again.
"I apologize for him. He's not exactly a morning person?"
"Really? I hadn't realized" Piper smirked. "I got you some nectar." She set a glass down on the bedside table. "I'll just get one for the little Angel over there."
Nico scowled at her, as she turned back out into the hall.
"Really, Nico? Really?" Hermione hissed.
He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll apologize, when she gets back, alright?" He grumbled.
…
Jason was sitting in his father's room. That would never get any less awkward. His dad was no older than himself, and he was lying right in front of him. He felt bad about it, but he wasn't looking forward to his father waking up. He was bound to be furious, and they didn't know how much of his power he had retained. They had agreed to keep someone in the room with him at all times, and Leo had installed surveillance cameras. Jason worried that it might not be enough, which was why he volunteered for most of the shifts. He knew he should help more around the camp, but he felt like staying with his father was his responsibility, foremost. Besides, if his father could still zap people, he could take it better than the others.
His brooding was interrupted by a careful knock on the door frame. He looked up, to see Piper standing in the door way, smiling gently at him.
"How is it going?"
"No change. I'm starting to wonder if he will ever wake up." He drew his eyebrows together. That's not what he wanted either. Sure, he dreaded his father's anger, but he still wanted him to wake up, even if he wasn't looking forward to it.
"Hermione and Nico are awake. She thinks Zeus might need a magical alarm clock or something like that."
"A magical alarm clock?" He lifted a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know. He's in a magical sleep, so he needs a magical alarm clock."
Jason gave his girlfriend a crooked smile.
"I love you. Did you know?" And he really did. Without her support, he might have left the camp in embarrassment after his little tantrum at the Empire State Building.
"I might have an idea" She winked at him. He stood up to give her a kiss, that he was happy his dad was asleep for. It wasn't the kind of kiss, that one would do in public.
"Let's get out of here. We'll get someone else on guard duty. I think you need to see the sun."
Jason nodded in agreement. He really could use some fresh air.
"Speaking of the sun; how is Will?"
Piper sighed. "He's still the same, but Draco says he might be on the verge on a breakthrough."
"So. Fingers crossed?" "Yep. Fingers crossed."
…
A loud clang reverberated in the room, when Draco threw his third attempt at a potion to cure Will, at the wall. He was right on the verge of finding the cure, but there was something missing. The potion would work on a wizard, but he needed a binding agent if he wanted it to work on a demigod. It was beyond frustrating. For the past three weeks, he had dedicated all his time to find a cure. Aside from telling his mother to cooperate fully, when Harry would come to interview her about Avery, he had all but abandoned his post. Some auror he was. He was lucky Harry hadn't reported him to Kingsley, or maybe he had. Either way, it didn't really matter. He was on his own mission.
He let out a frustrated scream, as he went back to his notes.
"Are you quite finished?" Calypso asked him, with a lifted eyebrow. She was standing in the other end of their lab, hanging some of her herbs to dry.
"No. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. It's not the dosage, it's not the ingredients. There's something missing! I need something to bind the cure to the magical core of a demigod, but I have no clue where to start! I need to ask Apollo, but is he here? No!" He ranted, as Calypso listened patiently.
"He probably can't come down here. I imagine he's busy with Olympus. We haven't heard from any of the gods. It must be chaos up there." She told him.
"I know. I'm just worried. He's getting weaker by the day."
"Is it really that bad?"
He sighed "We still have time, but it's not a lot."
Calypso nodded thoughtfully. "I think it's time for a break, Draco. You need to go outside for some air. Or at least get out of the lab. You're driving yourself crazy. Did you even sleep last night?"
Draco rubbed a hand across his face. "A bit, but I really feel like I'm on the verge of a breakthrough here."
"And you're not going to reach that breakthrough on coffee and sleep deprivation. You're taking a break, even if I have to chase you out of the lab myself. Besides, I think your friend, Hermione is awake."
"Fine" He huffed "Just let me go check on Will first, okay?"
She smiled slyly at him. "Sure, go ahead."
He rolled his eyes at her, as he walked through the door. They had made a potions lab, connected to Leo's workshop. He waved at Leo as he left, heading up towards the main house. Walking through the house, he was reflecting upon the past few weeks. He was surprised at how much he was enjoying it. No one knew him here, so there was no fear of reverence to receive from these people. Here he was just Draco, the British guy, who happened to do magic. In a very short time, this had somehow become 'home'. Much more than Malfoy Manor was in any case. He still went home twice a week to visit his mum, always Tuesday and Thursday and he always made time to visit little Ivy at the orphanage he had gone to for information about Hermione's adoption.
He smiled, thinking about the little undercover witch. Ivy was a treasure. She was like a little hurricane, completely uncontrollable, but she was also very sweet and curious, especially about magic. He told her everything he could, about owls and wands and Hogwarts. Last time he was there, he had given her a copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard". He had specifically instructed her not to read "The Warlock's Hairy Heart", which meant he would probably get scolded by Rose next time he visited.
When he reached Will's room, he hesitated before opening the door. He always felt slightly awkward going in there. Not because he was unconscious or anything. He had visited Nico, Hermione and Zeus without problems, but going into Will's room, made him sweat for some reason. He went in, closing the door behind him. He stood for a while, just staring at the blonde young man, laying on the bed.
By now, he had heard many stories about Will Solace. How he was the best healer of all the children of Apollo, how he had fought in the two wars, how many people he had saved. How he used to date Nico, and had recently had his heart broken by the little shit, Avery. He had paid a personal visit to Avery himself, and he couldn't say he was impressed. Draco generally disliked it, but in some circles, the Malfoy name could still intimidate, and the Avery family was one of those circles. Saying his name and showing his dark mark, was enough to make the guy look like he was about to puke.
When he was younger, he would have reveled in the effect it brought, but not anymore. He would use it, if needed, but he wanted to do something he could be proud of, and he would start by helping Will Solace.
"We haven't been formally introduced, but I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm going to heal you, if it's the last thing I do." He told the sleeping man, as he started to measure his vitals.
So, the updates are going to be a bit slower on this one. I unfortunately have to take care of that life I have. I'll still strive to update often, just not every day.
Please leave a review :)